and rubbing his neck. Auriella mounted Fire Dancer as Matthew unlocked the doors and swung them open.
“Tell anyone where I went and I will come back and finish what I started.”
Matthew gulped and touched his neck.
She spurred her horse forward and pounded towards the forest.
Tybolt bolted out of the stables on Widow Maker. He steered his horse through the streets, shouting for people to move out of the way. As he neared the city gates, Matthew was locking them.
“Hold that gate!” he shouted.
Matthew hesitated, but then he swung the door open.
Tybolt pulled Widow Maker to a stop. “Where did she go?”
Matthew paled.
“Where did she go?”
“I, I…she’ll kill me if I say anything.”
Tybolt growled and snapped the reigns. Auriella could’ve headed towards the forest or towards the coast. If she didn’t want to be found, the forest would be the obvious choice.
Widow Maker’s hoofs pounded across the rocky land between them and the trees. Tybolt saw a flash of white disappear between two large pines. Fire Dancer. Tybolt urged his horse faster, but Widow Maker struggled to increase his speed up the steep ascent. When the ground finally leveled out, Widow Maker’s stride lengthened and they hurtled into the forest.
Auriella reigned in Fire Dancer. The horse’s sides heaved, and foam lathered around the bit. She leaned down and patted Dancer’s neck. “Good girl,” she murmured.
Auriella sat up and tried to slow her own breathing. They were deep in the thieves’ forest now, farther than most Hunters liked to venture. A branch caught at the fabric on her skirt, tearing open the side.
Not like it mattered anymore.
She shouldn’t have run. Any trespasses she’d committed against Terric would surely be forgiven…considering she was clearly first in line to be Queen. If there was one thing she was sure of, it was Rowan’s appetite once he had his sights on the woman he wanted.
She hadn’t been thinking clearly. But she hadn’t been thinking clearly since the moment Sarah had walked through her door with this obscene dress draped over her arms. And now she’d left the city during Festival. That was sure to enrage the king, although to what outcome she didn’t know. She thought of returning and begging forgiveness, but she couldn’t make herself turn the horse around.
Auriella didn’t want forgiveness. She wanted to be free.
The trees opened up to reveal a small mountain lake with a distorted silver crescent dancing in the center. On the south side of the lake sat a cabin with thin trails of white smoke seeping from the chimney. She pulled Fire Dancer to a stop and stared.
What was she doing? Even now, this close to him, she knew she couldn’t have what she wanted. The danger was too great.
Auriella dismounted and sank to the ground in a pile of torn silk.
Tybolt walked his horse in circles, looking for something, anything, that might point him in the right direction. He was practically right on top of the piece of green silk before he saw it fluttering on the branch. He plucked it off and frowned.
He peered through the trees as he rubbed the fabric between his fingers. There was a broken branch a little further in—someone had indeed passed through here. He turned Widow Maker and headed straight into the thieves’ forest.
This section of the forest was a dangerous place, even for a Hunter. Several Hunters had never returned from venturing in. Others barely made it out with their lives. Ambushes were common and the thieves took no mercy. They were also precariously close to Desolate Drop, and the trees were so tightly packed you wouldn’t see it until it was too late.
Tybolt normally loved the beauty of the forest, but here the trees lost their rugged appeal and screamed of the danger that could be hiding behind them. Enhancing the precarious situation was a thick layer of pine needles that covered the ground, perfect for softening the foot
“Tell anyone where I went and I will come back and finish what I started.”
Matthew gulped and touched his neck.
She spurred her horse forward and pounded towards the forest.
Tybolt bolted out of the stables on Widow Maker. He steered his horse through the streets, shouting for people to move out of the way. As he neared the city gates, Matthew was locking them.
“Hold that gate!” he shouted.
Matthew hesitated, but then he swung the door open.
Tybolt pulled Widow Maker to a stop. “Where did she go?”
Matthew paled.
“Where did she go?”
“I, I…she’ll kill me if I say anything.”
Tybolt growled and snapped the reigns. Auriella could’ve headed towards the forest or towards the coast. If she didn’t want to be found, the forest would be the obvious choice.
Widow Maker’s hoofs pounded across the rocky land between them and the trees. Tybolt saw a flash of white disappear between two large pines. Fire Dancer. Tybolt urged his horse faster, but Widow Maker struggled to increase his speed up the steep ascent. When the ground finally leveled out, Widow Maker’s stride lengthened and they hurtled into the forest.
Auriella reigned in Fire Dancer. The horse’s sides heaved, and foam lathered around the bit. She leaned down and patted Dancer’s neck. “Good girl,” she murmured.
Auriella sat up and tried to slow her own breathing. They were deep in the thieves’ forest now, farther than most Hunters liked to venture. A branch caught at the fabric on her skirt, tearing open the side.
Not like it mattered anymore.
She shouldn’t have run. Any trespasses she’d committed against Terric would surely be forgiven…considering she was clearly first in line to be Queen. If there was one thing she was sure of, it was Rowan’s appetite once he had his sights on the woman he wanted.
She hadn’t been thinking clearly. But she hadn’t been thinking clearly since the moment Sarah had walked through her door with this obscene dress draped over her arms. And now she’d left the city during Festival. That was sure to enrage the king, although to what outcome she didn’t know. She thought of returning and begging forgiveness, but she couldn’t make herself turn the horse around.
Auriella didn’t want forgiveness. She wanted to be free.
The trees opened up to reveal a small mountain lake with a distorted silver crescent dancing in the center. On the south side of the lake sat a cabin with thin trails of white smoke seeping from the chimney. She pulled Fire Dancer to a stop and stared.
What was she doing? Even now, this close to him, she knew she couldn’t have what she wanted. The danger was too great.
Auriella dismounted and sank to the ground in a pile of torn silk.
Tybolt walked his horse in circles, looking for something, anything, that might point him in the right direction. He was practically right on top of the piece of green silk before he saw it fluttering on the branch. He plucked it off and frowned.
He peered through the trees as he rubbed the fabric between his fingers. There was a broken branch a little further in—someone had indeed passed through here. He turned Widow Maker and headed straight into the thieves’ forest.
This section of the forest was a dangerous place, even for a Hunter. Several Hunters had never returned from venturing in. Others barely made it out with their lives. Ambushes were common and the thieves took no mercy. They were also precariously close to Desolate Drop, and the trees were so tightly packed you wouldn’t see it until it was too late.
Tybolt normally loved the beauty of the forest, but here the trees lost their rugged appeal and screamed of the danger that could be hiding behind them. Enhancing the precarious situation was a thick layer of pine needles that covered the ground, perfect for softening the foot
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